Marketing firm at work on Birmingham's image

The New York marketing firm hired by the Birmingham Business Alliance to help boost the region's image has started meeting with area leaders to gain ideas to pitch to national media contacts.

Andy Levine, chief executive of Development Counsellors International, and Steve Duncan, a DCI account supervisor, spent five days in Birmingham last month during the BBA's small business week activities, meeting with about two dozen city and business leaders.

"It was a great opportunity to talk with area business leaders about what's important to them and find out what stories they'd like to get out to national media," Duncan said.

Dave Rickey, the BBA's senior vice president of communications, also introduced the DCI officials to a group of communications leaders from some of the Birmingham area's biggest companies. While Levine, who previously worked with BBA chief Brian Hilson when Hilson headed the Huntsville Madison County Chamber of Commerce, had been to Birmingham before, it was Duncan's first time in the Magic City.

"There was a very positive vibe building in Birmingham, from what I heard from the people we talked to," Duncan said. "We've been to cities before where that wasn't the case. Birmingham appears to be a city that is on the move."

From the DCI's talks with area leaders, Duncan said, residents expressed optimism about projects such as the new Railroad Park, UAB's expansion plans and the planned $50 million Westin Hotel. Asked whether DCI heard any concerns about fallout from Jefferson County's financial crisis, Duncan said, "It came up a little bit."

"I think people are ready to move beyond it -- this problem has been around a couple years," Duncan said. "From a national perspective, it could be a problem if things worsen. But Birmingham has already proven its ability to bounce back from difficult times."

Jefferson County officials are considering a possible bankruptcy filing after a judge invalidated an occupational tax and a business license fee that generated $74 million a year. The county was already groaning under about $3 billion in sewer system debt that it can't repay.

If Jefferson County files for Chapter 9 protection, it will be the largest municipal bankruptcy in the nation's history. 'Positive stories'DCI, meanwhile, already is working on the next step of its image campaign.

In coming weeks, Duncan and Levine will return to Birmingham, joined by a third DCI representative, Susan Brake. This time, they will talk with a larger array of area business, political and community leaders, including Birmingham Mayor William Bell, who was unavailable last month.

"We have already talked to some of our national media contacts about Birmingham," Duncan said. "We don't have a timetable, but hope to see some positive stories coming out soon and will continue to pitch stories about the area."

The marketing effort by DCI came out of the Blueprint Birmingham plan to move the region forward. Rickey and Duncan said any area residents and business leaders wanting to make suggestions for DCI should do so at blueprintbirmingham.com.

"There are a lot of positive things going on in metro Birmingham," Duncan said.

"Those are stories that the national media don't know about. The national perception of Birmingham's image from the 1960s are no longer true. It's a place that has changed and is growing, and we are excited about telling that story."